New York bans bath salts, synthetic drugs

The New York State Department of Health issued a ban on the sale or possession of bath salts and other synthetic drugs, which are often marketed as “legal alternatives to marijuana,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

The new regulations will expand the list of prohibited drugs and chemicals to include dozens more substances that are now used to make synthetic drugs.

Bath salts are sold under names including White Lightening, Snow Leopard, Tranquility, Zoom, Ivory Wave, Red Dove, Vanilla Sky, and others, while synthetic marijuana is sold under names including Spice, K2, Blaze and Red Dawn X, Cuomo said in a release.

Violators can now be charged with possession of an illicit substance, and can face fines up to $500 and up to 15 days in jail.

Cuomo said in a statement that these bath salts and synthetic drugs “pose a direct, serious threat to public health and safety.”

In 2011, there were 39 reported emergency room visits in upstate New York as a result of bath salts. Already in 2012, there have been 191 related emergency room visits, including 120 in June and July.

Emergency room visits tied to synthetic marijuana have also risen sharply, according to the New York State Poison Control Center.

In 2010, the Poison Control Center reported 20 calls concerning synthetic marijuana poisonings.

That number rose to 291 last year, and there were already 321 calls concerning synthetic marijuana poisonings through the first six months of 2012.